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‘13 Reasons Why’ Review: pg. 6

W E ’ R E T H E R E W H E N YO U C A N ’ T B E

WEDNESDAY

APRIL 19, 2017

B AY L O R L A R I AT. C O M

BU selects first female president
George Washington
University School of
Business dean,
professor named
15th Baylor president
KALYN STORY
Staff Writer
Baylor has announced Linda A. Livingstone as
the university’s 15th president. Set to take office
June 1, she will be the university’s first female
president. She is currently the dean and professor
at the George Washington University School of
Business.
Baylor Media reported in an email that
Livingstone was the unanimous choice of the
Board of Regents and was recommended by the
Presidential Search Committee.
Before she was at George Washington University,
she served as a dean of Pepperdine University’s
Graziadio School of Business and Management and
associate dean and associate professor in Baylor’s
Hankamer School of Business.
“I am humbled and honored to be selected as the
15th president of Baylor University,” Livingstone
wrote in the email. “I chose to begin my academic
career at Baylor in significant part because of
Baylor’s Christian mission. To return to Baylor to
partner with the exceptional faculty, staff, students
and administrators to fulfill the University’s vision
to be a top-tier research institution, committed
to excellence in all aspects of university life,
while strengthening the Christian mission is an
opportunity I look forward to with enthusiasm.”
In a teleconference Tuesday afternoon,
Livingstone said she is honored to return to Baylor
and said Baylor’s faith and superb academics are
the reasons she started her academic career at
Baylor in 1991.
“Baylor holds such a unique and significant
place in higher education, scholarship, academics,
all while maintaining their Christian commitment,”
Livingstone said. “I am looking forward to the
future of Baylor, we have a tremendous opportunity
here. There is tremendous passion among the
Baylor family and I look forward to working with
the entire Baylor community.”
Livingstone and Ronald Murff, chairman of
the Board of Regents, both acknowledged the
significance of Livingstone being Baylor’s first
female president, but Murff said the committee did

Photo Courtesy of Baylor Media Communications

IN WITH THE NEW Baylor University has
selected Dr. Linda A. Livingstone, current dean
and professor of management at the George
Washington University School of Business, as the
institution’s 15th president.

not seek out a women president in light of the recent
sexual assault scandal but rather searched for the
best person for the job. He is confident Livingstone
is the best selection.
“This is not the first time in my career I have
been the first women to do something so I am certain
I can take that responsibility on,” Livingstone said.
“I am the right person regardless of what my gender
is. I take [issues of sexual assault] very seriously,
and they are important issues for every person in the
community. At Baylor, we are going to do the right
thing, certainly according to the law but beyond
that, and provide a safe and healthy environment
for our students.”
In the conference, Livingstone was asked point
blank if every student found guilty of sexual assault
would be expelled, and Livingstone said issues of
sexual assault will be handled on a case-by-case
basis.
Livingstone’s time at Pepperdine University
overlapped for almost six years with former Baylor
President Ken Starr’s time as Dean of Pepperdine
University’s School of Law.
When asked about new programs she would
like to put in place, she said that before she decides
anything she is going to do a lot of listening to and
visiting with individuals on campus and across the
university community.
“Foundationally and at the core of the university
is the desire to strengthen the Christian mission and
academia and to ensure the safety and security of

*1898: John C. Lattimore served as interim president
*2005-06: William D. Underwood served as interim president
*2008-10, 2016-17: David Garland served as interim president
Source: Baylor.edu

PRESIDENT >> Page 5

Liesje Powers | Photo Editor

Organization hosts cross-cultural dinner
JOY MOTON
Staff Writer
Students gathered in the Bobo
Spiritual Life Center for a CrossCultural Engagement dinner with
the African Student Association on
Tuesday evening. Students ate a
traditional Ethiopian dinner as a panel
of three students from various parts
of Africa discussed their experiences

growing up in America as people of
African descent.
Alexandria, La., senior Mima
Fondong, president of the African
Student Association, is originally
from Cameroon and said it was hard
for her parents to understand what
she went through growing up in a
new country because although they
had been young once, they did not
experience the struggle of growing

up in America.
She said that while other people
live in large cities where there were
subcultures of people from Africa,
she lived in a small town where she
only met one or two people from
other countries. She tried to mask
her culture because she did not have
anyone to relate to, she said.
“That was kind of hard, but being
at Baylor and having subcultures here

definitely helped me to embrace my
culture and be proud of it,” Fondong
said.
Little Elm senior Serra John said
she grew up in a very traditional
household. She said she had a tough
time finding a balance because it
took her a long time to learn English.
Having to learn to assimilate into the
American lifestyle was difficult, but
she said her culture has remained a

Seniors present
theses during
Honors Week
RYLEE SEAVERS
Staff Writer
The Honors College’s
25th annual J. Harry and Anna
Jeanes Academic Honors
Week is underway. During
this week, undergraduate
students
present
thesis
research papers and attend a
banquet.
Events began Tuesday
and will conclude Friday with
the academic convocation.
Academic Honors Week
is a recognition of the
Vol.117 No. 98

opportunities provided to
undergraduate
students
through the Honors College.
Throughout the week,
all graduating seniors in
the honors program will be
presenting thesis research
projects, said Dr. Thomas
Hibbs, dean of the Honors
College. The honors thesis
is an opportunity for students
in the Honors College to
work intensively on one
subject with the counsel of
a faculty member that has
knowledge on the subject,

strong part of who she is.
She explained that she loves
attending traditional weddings, eating
her mother’s cooking, not having to
speak English at home, dressing up
in traditional clothes and seeing her
family.
“I absolutely love everything
about my culture. When I go home I

DINNER >> Page 5

>>WHAT’S INSIDE
opinion
Baylor’s new president:
Not only is she a woman,
but she’s the most
qualified for the job. pg. 2

Welcome, President Livingstone
The
state
of
Baylor’s
presidential office has had its share
of ups and downs recently, to say
the least. From Starr’s firing to the
limbo of Interim President David
Garland’s tenure — the position
has been anything but stable.
But finally, after months of
deliberation, the board has been
able to report some good news
to the Baylor family: They have
found their 15th president of
Baylor in Dr. Linda Livingstone.
While there are plenty of
reasons to celebrate this new hire,
one of the biggest pieces of news
is that Livingstone is the first
woman president in the history
of the university. There is reason
to be excited about this historic
moment, but placing our focus
on her gender diminishes the
importance of her hiring.
Bringing excessive attention
to the fact that she is a woman
overshadows
all
of
her
accomplishments as an individual.
She expressed this sentiment
herself after the announcement of
her presidency, saying, “I am the
right person regardless of what my
gender is. I take [issues of sexual
assault] very seriously, and they
are important issues for every
person in the community. At
Baylor we are going to do the right
thing, certainly according to the
law but beyond that, and provide a
safe and healthy environment for
our students.”
Livingstone
has
proven
herself to be an extremely
qualified individual. A graduate
of Oklahoma State University,
Livingstone holds a bachelor’s
degree in economics and
management, a master’s degree
in business administration and
a doctorate in management and
organizational behavior.
On top of her stellar academic
resume, she has also taught in
the department of management
at Baylor University, has held the
position of dean of the Graziadio
School of Business at Pepperdine

JESSICA BABB
Broadcast Managing Editor
This time three years ago, I was a
senior in high school, and I was just
itching to leave the town I grew up in and
begin a new adventure. It felt like college
couldn’t come fast enough. Now that I am
on the other end of my college journey
and graduation is
drawing closer, I
have realized how
much harder it is to
leave home.
I love adventure,
and my college years
have been filled
with it. I studied
abroad in Italy; I
spent a semester in
Washington, D.C.,
during the presidential election; I covered
the inauguration in D.C. and recently
took a trip to New York City. I don’t have
any problems leaving home or trying new
things. In fact, I thrive on it. But with only
one semester left of college, I have realized
that my few visits home will soon become
even fewer, and my adventures away from
my parents will last even longer.
When I graduate, I will be pursuing
a career in broadcast journalism and
will likely be moving around to different
stations every few years. Right off the bat,
I would love to leave Texas when I do get
that first job. I have no idea where I will
actually end up, but to me, the idea of
exploring the world is extremely exciting
and is something I have been looking
forward to.
But now it is becoming real. I have
registered for classes for the last time, I
have been working on the resume reel I
will use to apply for jobs, and I have really
begun thinking about where I might want
to live.
While part of me is excited for this
new chapter of my life to begin, there is
another part of me that wishes I could be
a little kid still living at home. Deep down,
I am a homebody and I love spending
time with my family. They are the most
important people in my life, and I always
cherish the time I get to spend with them.
It hit me this past weekend when I went
home to celebrate Easter with them
because this time next year I won’t be able
to just go home.
I have noticed that I have begun to
appreciate my parents more and the little
moments we share together. Whether it is
getting a pedicure with my mom or just
going on a long car ride with my dad,
I have made sure to really enjoy each
moment with them because I know those
moments will soon become fewer and
farther between.
I wish I could tell my high school self
not to be in such of a big rush to leave
the house, and to enjoy the time before
college just a little bit more. I wish I
could tell my college self that it was OK
to go home a little more often. And I
know I will be telling my future self to
enjoy the moments I do get to spend at
home, knowing just how much harder the
goodbyes become.
I have realized that no matter how
excited I am to pursue a new adventure,
I will always miss my parents and the
moments we share together.
Jessica Babb is a senior journalism and
political science double major from Harker
Heights.

We believe it is imperative that the
personalized experience at Baylor
remains and that this is best done
so through an active interaction
with the students.
We hope you are a president
who is unabashedly transparent
— alack thereof has proven to be
detrimental to this university’s
image and has taken a toll on the
internal morale.
And lastly, we hope you are a
president who will valiantly move
to change this university for the
better — that you will rebuild the
compassionate atmosphere we all
found when we chose to come to
Baylor, that you will facilitate the
change of the university itself and
that you will revive the Baylor that
has been hurt and humbled into a
place we are all proud to call our
alma matter.

Pepsi ad never aimed to incite protests
KASSIDY WOYTEK
Reporter
The infamous Pepsi commercial starring
Kendall Jenner, released earlier this month,
outraged many viewers by incorporating
protest imagery and
implying that social
injustices could be solved
by something as simple as
offering a policeman a soft
drink.
The video wasn’t
even online for 24 hours
before Pepsi pulled the
ad with an accompanying
statement saying, “Clearly
we missed the mark, and
we apologize. We did not intend to make light
of any serious issue.”
I think it’s a shame that Pepsi felt the need
to apologize.
The majority of angry responses on
Twitter stemmed from the false assumption
that the commercial was specifically referring
to violence between police officers and
African-Americans.
The New York Times article on the
advertisement even said it “borrowed imagery
from the Black Lives Matter movement” and
“trivialized the killings of black people by

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
Gavin Pugh*

SPORTS EDITOR
Jordan Smith

BROADCAST MANAGING EDITOR
Jessica Babb

DIGITAL MANAGING EDITOR
Didi Martinez*

PHOTO/VIDEO EDITOR
Liesje Powers*

ASSISTANT WEB EDITOR
Pablo Gonzales

PAGE ONE EDITOR
Bailey Brammer

BROADCAST REPORTERS
Morgan Kilgo
Elisabeth Tharp
Christina Soto

NEWS EDITOR
McKenna Middleton*

OPINION EDITOR
Molly Atchison*

ASSISTANT NEWS EDITOR
Genesis Larin

CARTOONIST
Joshua Kim*

COPY DESK CHIEF
Karyn Simpson*

STAFF WRITERS
Rylee Seavers
Kalyn Story
Megan Rule
Joy Moton

ARTS & LIFE EDITOR
Kaitlyn DeHaven

we hold to the belief that any
president who is elected to this
office by the Board of Regents,
regardless of whether they are
male or female, should be able
handle this sensitive situation
with grace and poise.
And with that said, Dr.
Livingstone, we are excited to
welcome you to the Baylor family.
But as a university that is hurting
and healing during a turbulent
time, we have a high standard
for someone that our community
looks to as a leader.
We hope you will be someone
who listens to your students and
faculty, because have seen what
happens when too many people
turn their ears away from the
people they represent.
We hope you are someone who
maintains a presence on campus.

COLUMN

Meet the Staff

COPY EDITOR
Kristina Valdez

Joshua Kim|Cartoonist

University and currently serves
as the dean of the George
Washington University School of
Business. She is excellently suited
for the position of president and
has earned her position through
experience as well as academic
expertise.
We should expect nothing
but the best from Livingstone,
who is assuming her position at
Baylor during one of the most
tumultuous times in our history.
We believe that Livingstone is
more than capable of handling
the current Title IX situation
and improving the lives of sexual
assault survivors along with the
rest of the student body and the
staff.
However, we sincerely hope
that her gender has not put her
at a perceived advantage because

police.”
Further adding to the misconception was
the comparison of a shot of Kendall Jenner to
a photo of Black Lives Matter activist Ieshia
Evans standing in opposition to police.
Bjorn Charpentier, the ad’s director
of photography, said in an interview with
TMZ that the commercial wasn’t an homage
to the photograph of Ieshia Evans or by the
Black Lives Matter movement at all. Instead,
the inspiration came from photographs of
Vietnam War protesters offering flowers to
police officers.
While the commercial did feature
African-Americans, it also represented people
of a wide range of races, religions and sexual
orientations.
Featuring nothing but vague signs such
as, “Join the conversation” and “Love,” Jenner
and her horde of attractive young people could
have been protesting just about anything.
Ironically, the generic nature of the fictional
protest was probably a deliberate attempt by
Pepsi to be as inoffensive as possible.
Another concern many people had
with the ad was that the lighthearted tone
made important protests throughout history
seem like trivial social gatherings rather than
dangerous, risky work.
Among those who expressed this
sentiment was Bernice King, daughter of
Martin Luther King Jr., who tweeted, “If only

Daddy would have known about the power of
#Pepsi.”
I think it’s important to put the video
in context before getting offended. First and
foremost, the advertisement’s purpose was to
convince consumers to buy Pepsi because it’s
a drink that people of all backgrounds and
beliefs can enjoy together.
Is the fictional protest in the commercial
a realistic depiction of the struggles of
different marginalized groups? Absolutely not.
However, we have to remember that very few
commercials are accurate depictions of reality.
Pepsi employees are not truly suggesting
that offering someone a soft drink can solve
anyone’s problems.
Some argued that the Pepsi ad failed
because they didn’t reference a specific
movement or take a side. While it’s true that
many brands nowadays do make political
statements in advertisements, they have no
obligation to do so and shouldn’t be punished
for staying neutral.
While it’s true that the commercial was
cheesy, idealistic and a contrived attempt at
pandering to the millennial generation, at least
it had a positive message of unity. The Pepsi
ad never pretended to be anything other than
a soda commercial, and it’s a shame that the
brand now suffers for it.
Kassidy Woytek is a junior journalism
major from Poteet.

Contact Us

Opinion

General Questions:
Lariat@baylor.edu
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The Baylor Lariat welcomes reader viewpoints through letters to the editor and
guest columns. Opinions expressed in the Lariat are not necessarily those of
the Baylor administration, the Baylor Board of Regents, the student body or the
Student Publications Board.

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Editorials express the opinions of the Lariat Editorial Board. Lariat letters and
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To submit a Lariat Letter, email LariatLetters@baylor.edu. Letters should be a
maximum of 400 words. The letter is not guaranteed to be published.

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4

Wednesday, April 19, 2017
The Baylor Lariat

News

Students speak up
Texas college students weigh in on sexual assault,
Title IX during Sexual Assault Awareness Month
KALYN STORY
Staff Writer
For Sexual Assault Awareness
Month, the Lariat talked to
students from several universities
across Texas about what Title IX
means to them.
What does Title IX mean
to you?
Marburger: To me, I think
Title IX is the equal opportunity
for women and girls to have the
right to not be excluded from
activities or other programs. I
think it’s important to recognize
and not discriminate people
based on sex. I think now people
realize that women see themselves
differently but in a good way.
Parker: I think Title IX doesn’t
allow sex discrimination.
Godoy: Title IX means equality
between all men and women and
no discrimination between races
and sexual orientation.
Rowton: Title IX is a law that
stands up against sexual assault
and discrimination.
Why is it important for
colleges to recognize sexual
assault awareness month?
Marburger: It’s important
for colleges to recognize Sexual
Assault Awareness Month because
schools need to implement training
and educational programs to help

Samantha
Marburger
UNT freshman

Ashtlyn
Parker
Texas State
freshman

Saidee Godoy
Texas A&M
freshman

Montana
Rowton
UT Austin
sophomore

make students more aware of the
seriousness of this issue. I think it’s
important for men and women to
be aware of the dangers of this and
do their part in stopping it from
happening. Of course I’m sure

many campuses haven’t pushed
the need to address this issue, but
I think it’s important that colleges
enforce it.
Parker: It’s important because
sexual assault is becoming such a

“normal” situation, causing people
to turn the other way and avoid
it. If we are able to recognize it
during Sexual Assault Awareness
Month, then we should be able to
help the people who go through
something like that and help them
find the support they need.
Godoy: Because there’s higher
numbers within college campuses
of sexual assault because alcohol is
very present and students are still
pretty naive.
Rowton:
Sexual
assault
happens a lot, especially on
college campuses, and it’s often
overlooked. Sometimes it can be
uncomfortable to talk about it, but
we have to because it happens, and
it happens more than we realize.
Talking about sexual assault and
educating students can be even
more effective than laws like Title
IX in my opinion. Sexual assault
goes beyond reporting ,too.
Survivors need to know about
the resources after the report and
that they have support from their
classmates on campus too.

ONLINE EXTRAS

Read more
student
interviews on:
bay lo r l a r i at.c o m

Facebook killer takes his life during chase
MIKE HOUSEHOLDER
AND MARK GILLISPIE
Associated Press
ERIE, Pa. — The man who
randomly gunned down a
Cleveland retiree and posted video
of the crime on Facebook killed
himself Tuesday during a police

chase in Pennsylvania that began
when a McDonald’s drive-thru
attendant recognized him.
It marked a violent end to
the nearly 48-hour multistate
manhunt for Steve Stephens,
whose case brought another round
of criticism down on Facebook
over how responsibly it polices

objectionable material posted by
users.
Acting on a tip from the
McDonald’s, state troopers spotted
Stephens leaving the restaurant in
Erie and went after him, bumping
his car to try to get it to stop,
authorities said. He shot himself
in the head after the car spun and

came to a stop, police said.
“This started with one tragedy
and ended with another person
taking their own life,” said
Cleveland Police Chief Calvin
Williams. “We would have liked to
have brought Steve in peacefully
and really talked to him about why
this happened.”

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HONOR from Page 1
coordinator for the Honors Program, wrote
in an email to the Lariat that the thesis
presentations are usually the culmination
of two years of work for honors students
and represent considerable time and effort.
“For the Baylor community, this is an
opportunity for other students and faculty
to see the fruit of the thesis process. For
the student making the presentation, this
is often great training for graduate or
professional school where scholarship
will continue to be shared with the larger
academy,” Beck wrote.
There are over 100 students completing
their honors thesis this semester, according
to Beck.
A banquet will be held on Wednesday
for all graduating seniors and their faculty
mentors. Three previous honors program
graduates will speak to the current seniors
about the impacts their thesis projects had
on their education and opportunities after
graduation.
The academic convocation on Friday
will recognize outstanding students from
across Baylor, not just in the Honors
College, Hibbs said. Each major from
across the university nominates an
outstanding student that will be recognized
at the convocation.
Jolene Damoiseaux, Baylor alumnus
and founder and executive director of
Mother on the Move, will be speaking at
the convocation.
Hibbs said that taking on a large
research project for students who are often
around age 21 or 22 is a very impressive
achievement. Being able to present the
project to other students and faculty
and take questions also shows a high
intellectual achievement, he said.
“It’s an opportunity for students to put
together all the skills that they’ve learned,
all the content that they’ve learned, into a
large, focused project,” Hibbs said.
Academic Honors Week is named for
J. Harry and Anna Jeanes, who supported
the Honors Program when it was small and
subsequently helped provide the resources
it needed to grow, Hibbs said. Harry
attended Academic Honors Week events
every year until he was physically unable
to, Hibbs said, and continued to watch
recordings of Academic Honors Week
after.
“It’s important that we express our
gratitude to them for seeing the possibility
of something that could be great when it
was fairly small,” Hibbs said of the Jeanes.

Wednesday, April 19, 2017
The Baylor Lariat

News

5

Waco airport progresses infrastructure projects
MEGAN RULE
Staff Writer
A public information workshop last week
updated the Waco community on the progress
and direction of the Waco Regional Airport
master plan.
“The master plan is literally a plan to help
us identify what we need,” said Joel Martinez,
director of aviation at Waco Regional Airport.
“As the funds become available, that’s when
we act on those project lists. So we’ll start as
early as next year, but again the master plan is
just mapping out the next 15 years’ worth of
projects for how our facility will progress. It
will be an ongoing thing.”
The meeting was held from 5:30 to 7
p.m. on Thursday at the airport terminal
building. Martinez said the meeting focused on
recommendations in terms of infrastructure for
the airport. Martinez reviewed a list of about 30
various projects to consider for construction,
as well as budgeting for the projects. Martinez
said a major focus and the next project was to
relocate runway 1432 by moving it to the north
to eliminate a safety area concern.
“I’m currently identifying projects and
securing funds to complete those projects,
whether that is acquisition of properties
or drainage plans and implementing that,”
Martinez said. “Implementation is what my
focus will be once the plan is complete.”
Martinez also said there has not been any
imposing feedback that he is aware of up to this
point. There has been a lot of public interest,
he said. The meeting last Thursday had about
15 members of the general public present to

PRESIDENT
from Page 1

our students, and those will remain
top priorities,” Livingstone said.
Attorney John Eddie Williams,
a member of Bears for Leadership
Reform, issued a statement on
behalf of the group, saying that
they approve of the board’s
selection.
“We believe Dr. Livingstone
can play an instrumental role in
that process,” Williams said in
the statement. “We welcome Dr.
Livingstone back home to Baylor
where she was a beloved teacher,
and we look forward to working
closely with her to ensure positive
reforms are made so that the
Baylor Family can heal and move
forward.”

Liesje Powers | Photo Editor

SEEKING IMPROVEMENTS The Waco Regional Airport held a public information workshop last
week to update the Waco community on the progress and direction of the master plan.

participate, review and discuss sketches and
recommendations, Martinez said. The target for
finishing the master plan is still set for June.
“A big part of the master plan was to bring
the community in on the planning aspect of the
airport,” Martinez said. “I hope the community
and those involved recognize going forward that
this project was discussed, and they remember

why we need that.”
A representative from the Federal Aviation
Administration was also present at the meeting
and had no glaring feedback, so Martinez
believes they are moving in the right direction.
“With upcoming construction and hopeful
improvements, I’d definitely consider traveling
via the Waco airport because I don’t have a car,

and getting a ride there would be a lot easier
than commuting to Dallas,” Columbia, Tenn.,
freshman Micaela Freeman said. “Disregarding
connecting flights, I’d be one to try out the
Waco airport. I’ve heard nothing but positives
about it in the past.”
In October, the airport announced the
creation of the master plan in order to
implement changes over the next 20 years.
The master plan considers various ideas for
construction, relocation and generating income
from expanding the runway and parking area.
Walker Partners, Coffman Associates, Martinez
Geospatial and DKMG Consulting are all
working on the project.
Jacob Bell, client manager for Walker
Partners, told the Lariat in October about
the creation of the master plan, a 20-year
road map that looks at alternatives for the
construction of the airport. Engineers working
on the project plan to work with the Federal
Aviation Administration to keep the Waco
Regional Airport up to standard, in addition to
related renovations. The master plan is done in
five-year increments, with the next five years
already planned. The project will move forward
after the next five years, focusing first on safety,
then expansion.
“As an out-of-state student, the Waco airport
tends to be my first reunion with Baylor and
Waco,” Peoria, Ill., freshman Lindsay Walton
said. “It is currently very small and kind of
dated. I am excited for it to be refurbished so
that when my friends and family fly down to
visit, the good impression of Baylor begins
when they touch down.”

DINNER from Page 1
can truly be myself,” John said.
Cypress, Calif., sophomore Onyinyechi
Ogomaka is an only child, and she said it is strange
as a person of Nigerian descent. She learned
about her Nigerian culture from the Igbo Catholic
Church, while she learned about American culture
from going to school every day.
“I feel like growing up, I had the best of both
worlds. I still had my American culture, and I still
had my Nigerian culture. My parents did a good job
of not secluding me from one culture,” Ogomaka
said.
This was the final Cross-Cultural Engagement
dinner of the semester. The Bobo Spiritual Life
Center will host a story slam on April 25 at 6
p.m. for students who are interested in sharing or
reading poetry of their choice. Students who are
interested in this opportunity can email Caitlin_
Childers@baylor.edu.

Jessica Hubble | Lariat Photographer

NEW CULTURE The African Student Association held a cross-cultural dinner on Tuesday in the Bobo
Spiritual Life Center. Those that attended were served a traditional Ethiopian meal, and then listened
to three students share their experiences growing up in America as a person of African descent.

To Intervene
To Care

To Prevent

April is National
Sexual Assault
Awareness Month
For information
about upcoming
events, visit
baylor.edu/titleix
#SAAM
#ItsOnUsBU

Ways You Can Help
1. Practice empathy. Don’t make jokes
about rape and violence.
2. Talk about the attitudes and behaviors
that lead to sexual violence.
3. Be selective of the media you consume. Are
there examples of healthy relationships?
4. Engage in campus leadership. Join the
It’s On Us Student Advisory Council.
5. Get involved with the Advocacy Center for
Crime Victims and Children.
Attend Dr Pepper Hour on April 25 from 3-4pm
in Barfield Drawing Room to learn more about
both the Advisory Council and Advocacy Center.

6

Wednesday, April 19, 2017
The Baylor Lariat

arts&life

b ay lo r l a r i at.c o m

On-The-Go >> Happenings: Visit @BULariatArts to see what’s going on in #ThisWeekinWaco

BaylorLariat.com

Baylor alum releases ‘Sordid’ sequel
CAROLINE BENTLEY
Reporter
Baylor alumnus Del Shores, released his
most recent movie, “A Very Sordid Wedding,”
on March 10, and it began showing at the Waco
Hippodrome Theatre on Monday.
Shores is an award-winning writer and
director of “Blues For Willadean,” “Southern
Baptist Sissies,” “Queer as Folk,” and “Sordid
Lives.” “A Very Sordid Wedding” is the sequel to
Shores’ series “Sordid Lives.” He also served as
entertainment editor for the Lariat from 197980.
“Not a day [went] by where someone didn’t
write me asking me for more ‘Sordid Lives,’
I wanted to contrast affirming churches and
organizations like Faith In America with the
hypocritical bigotry that is still being spewed,”
Shores, the writer, director and producer, said.
“A Very Sordid Wedding” brings back
characters from the prequel, “Sordid Lives.”
Shot in Winters, Texas, just a few weeks after the
Supreme Court on same-sex marriage, citizens
of the city are not ready to accept the ruling.
“A Very Sordid Wedding” premiered on March
10 in Palm Springs, Calif., at Camelot Theaters,
where “Sordid Lives” showed for 96 weeks.
“The film received the highest per-screen
box office gross, a stellar $40,000, of any
specialty film in the country,” said public
relations associate Brian Geldin. “‘A Very Sordid
Wedding’ is now making its way in limited
release via The Film Collaborative in Waco,
Austin and Dallas.”
“A Very Sordid Wedding” makes its way
through Texas while the Texas Legislature
battles over Senate Bill 6, also known as the
bathroom bill Geldin said. The bathroom bill
is promoted as keeping bathrooms women and
men, rather than allowing transgender people

Courtesy Art

A SPLENDID SEQUEL “A Very Sordid Wedding,” the sequel to “Sordid Lives,” was written, directed and produced by previous entertainment editor of
the Baylor Lariat Del Shores. The film began showing at the Waco Hippodrome Theatre at 7 p.m. on Monday and explores heavy topics such as gay
marriage and the acceptance and rejection that come along with it.

the right to choose.
The 32-person cast consists of Bonnie
Bedelia from “Parenthood,” Caroline Rhea from
Sabrina the Teenage Witch, Leslie Jordan from
“Will and Grace,” Carole Cook from “Sixteen
Candles” and Alec Mapa from “Ugly Betty.”
The Hollywood Reporter said “A Very Sordid

Wedding” “offers some undeniably entertaining
moments and its talented ensemble, clearly
encouraged to pull out all the stops, and delivers
their comic shtick with admirable gusto.”
“Sordid Lives” dealt with coming out in a
conservative and southern environment, while
“A Very Sordid Wedding” explores the questions

that occur during the acceptance and rejection
of gay marriage in conservative families. Shores
uses comedy to approach the heavy topics
and shows a “very real process of acceptance,”
Geldin said.

Courtesy of Netflix

AFTER THE STORM Netflix’s original series “13 Reasons Why” tells the story of a 17-year-old girl, Hannah Baker, who commits
suicide and leaves behind tapes for the people she deems “responsible” for her death.

HOUSE FOR LEASE
1819 WASHINGTON

‘13 Reasons Why’ should
make you uncomfortable
KARYN SIMPSON
Copy Desk Chief
“Thirteen Reasons Why” is not a
feel-good series. The Netflix original,
which was released on March 31 and has
almost instantaneously developed a cult
following, will not leave you feeling happy
or content, and that is part of what makes
it so important.
The series is based on Jay Asher’s
2007 novel of the same name and follows
main character Clay Jensen, played by
Dylan Minnette, as he listens to the
tape-recorded suicide note of 17-yearold Hannah Baker, played by Katherine
Langford. The show is broken up into
13 episodes that follow the events of
Hannah’s 13 tapes, each of which tell the
stories of 13 interactions that led to her
eventual suicide.
The show is an excellently produced,
stark look at how our words and actions
can drastically impact the lives of others.
It speaks to the necessity of community
and friendship in hard times, as well
as the reality that incidents that appear
isolated or inconsequential can work in
conjunction to absolutely break a person.
More than that, though, it holds up a
very blatant mirror to some of the most
egregious and painful acts that can be
committed in our society, acts that we
speak about in hushed voices as though
they are something to be ashamed of, acts
such as rape and suicide.
I applaud Netflix for tackling “13
Reasons Why,” and I applaud creator
Brian Yorkey for refusing to shy away
from the toughest subjects. That said,
this show is very graphic. Several of the
episodes, particularly toward the end

of the series, feature trigger warnings
for graphic depictions of sexual assault,
abuse and suicide. It leaves little to the
imagination, which might make this series
unsuitable for the audience that needs
it most, depending on how parents feel
about sex, blood, alcohol and drug abuse.
For me, though, censoring or softening
acts such as rape and suicide would have
been a disrespect to the subject matter:
We need to be taken aback by the events
portrayed in “13 Reasons Why” because
these events are horrific. Rape is horrific.
Bullying is horrific. Suicide is horrific.
And the repercussions are enough to take
anyone to their knees, as this show so
poignantly portrays.
Yorkey stuck relatively close to the
book’s original plotline, something I,
a self-proclaimed bibliophile who has
read the book a handful of times in the
past four years, appreciated. The main
points and scenes remained the same,
though Yorkey took significant liberty
in expanding the background plot lines,
building on sideline characters whose
voices and perspectives were relatively
absent in the book. Overall, the changes
were wonderful and added dimension to
many of the secondary characters and a
subsequent weight to their actions.
The biggest change, though, and the
one I liked least, was Yorkey’s decision
to draw the plot out over a series of
days (weeks? It’s difficult to tell). In the
book, when Clay receives the tapes, he
listens to them all in one night, though
Netflix’s version features an extremely
hesitant main character who isn’t sure
he fully wants to discover the reasons
his love interest committed suicide—or
how he factors in. Though I understand

REVIEW
this choice from a cinematic perspective,
it feels a bit improbable amid an
unflinchingly realistic plotline. Any
normal teen would have binge-listened
to the 13 tapes in a single night, just as
Clay did in the book and just as many of
us have done with this series.
That aside, the cinematography in “13
Reasons Why” is fantastic. The producer
experimented with camera angles, image
layering and transitions that not only
make it visually appealing, but also gives
the show the same air of mystery, intrigue
and suspense that was so prevalent in
the book. In addition, the subtle camera
differences between the scenes set in the
present and the past helped make the
constant timeline jumps easy to follow.
Overall, “13 Reasons Why” is, one of
the most important shows on Netflix. It’s
beautifully executed in a way that serves
to highlight its message: that how we treat
others matters, that we never know what’s
going on in a person’s life and that our
actions, be they minute or truly egregious,
have an impact far wider than what we
can ever truly anticipate. In a homage to
our society, “13 Reasons Why” refuses
to allow any character, protagonist or
villain, to be one—dimensional, offers an
unflinching look at the immense sorrow
that inevitably follows suicide and asks
viewers to sincerely examine how they
interact with the people around them.
It serves as a much-needed reminder
that people matter and that how we treat
others can be the difference between life
and death, between someone choosing to
slit their wrists or to try another day.

CAROLINE BENTLEY
Reporter
At 39 years old, Byron
Jackson never imagined he
would be working out five
days a week and trading in
fried foods for soups and
salads.
Weighing in at 340
pounds, it wasn’t until
Jackson and his wife had
their first child that he
realized it was time for a
change. He wanted to be
around for his family, and
the only way he could do
that would be by shedding
excess weight.
After “almost dying”
from his first workout,
Jackson said, it took a few
classes to not dread going.
“The trainers at D1
[Waco] make it easy on
athletes to go at their own
pace and do what they’re
comfortable with. They

continuously motivate you
to keep going and push
through each workout,”
Jackson said.
After going twice a
week, Jackson increased
to working out five days a
week. When the six-month
mark hit, Jackson was losing
a pound a day, and inches
were starting to fall off to
the point that his clothes no
longer fit him.
“Going from not being
able to do a single pushup to
being able to keep up with
the younger athletes at D1
was a change,” Jackson said.
“I had always envisioned
myself as a relatively tall and
a lean guy but never thought
it would actually come to
fruition.”
Brooke,
Byron’s
wife,
witnessed
the
transformation firsthand.
“Not
many
people
can say they lost over 100
pounds without the help of

“I had always envisioned
myself as a relatively tall
and a lean guy, but never
though it would actually
come to fruition.”
Byron Jackson | D1 Nation Athlete of
the Year

pills or surgery, but Byron
has. He has more energy
than ever before, selfconfidence, and his overall
mood and outlook on life
has made a complete 180,”
Brooke said.
D1
Waco
general
manager Kevin Engelbrecht
presented Jackson with the
2017 D1 National Athlete of

the Year Award.
“Byron’s
incredible
journey and extraordinary
transformation
was
celebrated
by
every
member and employee at
D1 Waco and championed
by the Waco Community,”
Engelbrecht said.
Each program stems
from a core of faith-

based encouragement and
direction­—a
structure
not typically found at the
average gym, with each
trainer at D1 bringing a
different perspective to the
table.
“I hit some plateaus
along the way, but I was
losing inches in my waist,
I was able to get o my
medication, I was getting
stronger, and other aspects
of my body were showing
drastic improvement,” said
Jackson.
A year and a half into
his D1 experience, Jackson
weighed in at 230 pounds.
That is 110 pounds lost in
the span of 18 months.
“D1 Waco has completely
changed my life. People
view you in a completely
different
manner—they
are much more receptive
to someone who looks and
feels confident in who they
are,” Jackson said.

Cardiac kids strike again on solo shot
BEN EVERETT
Sports Writer
The Baylor baseball team defeated Stephen F.
Austin 2-1 Tuesday night at Baylor Ballpark in a
thrilling bottom-of-the-ninth comeback.
The Bears (23-14) trailed 0-1 going into the
bottom of the ninth where it scored on backto-back home runs to defeat the Lumberjacks
(22-17).
Despite struggling most of the game to find
rhythm on offense, the Bears pulled away when
it mattered most.
Baylor head coach Steve Rodriguez said it
was nice to get the win in spite of the offensive
struggles.
“Its frustrating,” Rodriguez said. “I know our
guys were pretty frustrated. They brought in a
closer [...] that no one hits well off of, so it was
impressive that we were able to get two home
runs off of him.”
Freshman pitcher Hayden Kettler made his
first start for the team and got off to a strong
start. Kettler allowed zero hits in the first inning
and struck out two batters.
The Bears’ offense faltered in the bottom of
the first, but Kettler recorded another strikeout
in the second to retire the side and bring the
Baylor batters to the plate.
With one out in the top of the third,
Lumberjacks’ catcher Will Foreman crushed a
ball to left field, but freshman third baseman
Davis Wendzel made a spectacular diving
catch to snag the out as he received a round of
applause from the Baylor fans.
In the bottom of the third, freshman
catcher Andy Thomas launched a double and
sophomore outfielder T.J. Raguse walked to
put two on base, but the Bears got nothing else
as freshman designated hitter Shea Langeliers
grounded out to third to end the inning.
Junior reliever Joe Heineman replaced
Kettler in the fourth inning. Kettler finished
the night having given up no runs and no hits
through three innings.
In the bottom of the fourth with two on base
and two outs, Wendzel was caught leading off
to third base by SFA pitcher Erik Nouis as the
Lumberjacks again held the Bears to zero runs.
The Lumberjacks got on the board in the
fifth after Zach Michener reached first on an
error by Wendzel, and Josh Evans hit a line drive

Dayday Wynn | Lariat Photographer

TAKING A WHACK AT IT Freshman catcher Andy Thomas goes for a hit in a game against the Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks Tuesday in Waco.
Baylor won the game on back-to-back home runs to walk it off in the bottom of the ninth 2-1.

down the right field line to drive in Michener
and give SFA the 1-0 lead.
Freshman pitcher Alex Phillips replaced
Heineman at the mound with two outs in the
fifth inning.
Thomas managed another hit in the fifth, but
the Bears again were unable to make anything of
it, leaving him on base as the Lumberjacks led
1-0 after five.
In the seventh, freshman Hunter Seay
replaced Phillips on the mound to record one
out before Seay was replaced with sophomore
Kyle Hill as Rodriguez continued to churn
through pitchers.
For the bottom of the eighth, Rodriguez put
in pinch hitters Levi Gilcrease and Matt Menard
who succeeded in a sac-bunt and sac-fly to
get a walked Tucker Cascadden to third base.

However, Langeliers struck out swinging on the
next at-bat as the Bears went to the ninth with
zero runs.
Baylor closer junior Troy Montemayor
came in to pitch the ninth inning for the Bears.
Montemayor recorded two strikeouts to shut
out the Lumberjacks in the inning, prepping the
Baylor offense for a potential comeback in the
bottom of the ninth.
In the first at-bat in the bottom of the ninth,
junior outfielder Kameron Esthay launched a
home run just past the right field wall to tie the
game at 1-1. Immediately following the Esthay
homer, Wendzel nailed a dinger of his own, this
time to left field, as the Bears won 2-1.
Wendzel, who hit his second homer of the
season, says he and Esthay knew they had to
swing freely in the ninth to bring the team back.

“We were ready to pick out some pitches,
and we knew once we got those pitches we
were going to need to hit them,” Wendzel said.
“Earlier in the game, I think we were swinging
at their pitches, but later in the game we started
swinging at the pitches we knew we could hit.”
Rodriguez says the midweek win is huge for
the teams momentum going in to the weekend
matchup versus rival TCU.
“Anytime you get a win going in to TCU it’s
a great thing,” Rodriguez said. “The momentum
shift is going to be great. Being able to get some
wins last weekend against Texas and a win
tonight going in to TCU, it’s just nice to be able
to get those things done.”
The Bears start play against TCU at 6:30 p.m.
Friday in Fort Worth.

Big 12 football coaches ready for rule change
STEPHEN HAWKINS
Associated Press
FORT
WORTH
—
West Virginia coach Dana
Holgorsen wishes he could add
a 10th assistant coach to his
staff right away. So does David
Beaty at Kansas.
They will have to wait
until after the 2017 season for
another full-time assistant,
but Big 12 coaches support
the measure approved by the
NCAA Division I Council and
expected to get final approval
from the Board of Governors
next week.
“It’s going to make a
big difference for a lot of
different reasons,” Holgorsen
said Tuesday during a spring
teleconference with Big 12

coaches. “I just wish it was
passed immediately.”
Another assistant is part
of a package approved by
the Division I Council last
week. Other changes include
allowing players to sign with
schools as early as December
and letting high school juniors
take official visits from April
through June. The signing
period change is expected
to take effect Aug. 1. But
the coaching staffs wouldn’t
expand until January, when
teams start preparing for the
2018 season.
“We already have a plan
for it, and I wish it would have
gone into effect right now,”
Beaty said. “There’s no reason
to wait. I think our budgets
would have allowed for it.”

New Texas coach Tom
Herman said the expanded
staff is long overdue and will
be good for the sport, which
he said has the worst ratio of
coaches to student-athletes.
The head coach and nine
assistants of FBS programs
generally can oversee 100-120
players during the fall.
“It will be a positive impact
for all us, for everybody just
with the number of players
that we are responsible for,”
Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops
said.
“For us, the biggest impact
is being able to regulate our
players, stay on top of their
academics, their social lives,
things like that, more so than
anything,” Oklahoma State
coach Mike Gundy said. “It

certainly helps to have coaches
on the field, but for us, we
spend a lot of time trying
to regulate these guys in the
different areas other than
football.”
Several coaches indicated
that they will utilize the extra
assistant to even out their staffs
on both sides of the ball.
Herman said his initial
thought is to hire a special
teams coach, someone whose
responsibilities would include
recruiting and helping on
defense.
The
Longhorns
currently have five offensive
assistants and four on defense.
Beaty already has a special
teams coordinator who helps
on the defensive side, so he
plans to bring in somebody
else to help with Kansas’

spread offense.
“Being able to have a guy to
work with inside receivers and
tight ends is something we feel
like is a necessity for us,” Beaty
said. “It just helps take a little
bit of the pressure off of so
many guys being coached on
that side.”
Gundy is leaning to adding
on defense, but will take
time to put thought into the
decision.
Second-year Iowa State
coach Matt Campbell believes
the impact of an additional
coach
with
“extreme
ownership” in their job and
the lives of players can be
monumental to programs.
He already has several strong
internal candidates to take a
role overseeing special teams.

West
Virginia’s
staff
currently has five defensive
assistants and four on offense.
Holgorsen plans to add a
fifth offensive assistant, then
split up special teams with
him being the primary guy
controlling that aspect of the
game.
“It certainly can be
beneficial in a lot of different
ways. It depends on what
your needs are as much as
anything,” Kansas State coach
Bill Snyder said. “Whoever it
is, we hope it’s a quality coach
and somebody that cares about
young people and will do with
right things. And if so, then
they certainly will be a benefit.”

No. 1 equestrian falls in Nationals
Baylor
loses to
No. 9 TCU
in NCEA
second
round
JORDAN SMITH
Sports Editor
No.
1-ranked
Baylor
equestrian fell short of
expectations
over
Easter
weekend as they were
defeated in the quarterfinal
round of the NCEA National
Championship 9-7 by the
No. 9-ranked Texas Christian
University Horned Frogs in
Waco.
The Bears received a bye for
the first round of competitions
because of their No. 1 ranking
during the regular season.
Friday was their first day of
competition with the first
of the four events between
the two teams with reigning.
Baylor lost the event 3-1.
Senior hunter seat rider
Savannah Jenkins said the
outcome
was
especially
disappointing because the
team’s full year season builds
up to this competition all year
long.
“We don’t have a break. We
don’t have a season,” Jenkins
said. “It’s all year round — for
two days at Big 12 and two days
here is what you really ride for
all year. So it really does make
it that much harder to know
we did so much work all year
to be able to ride one day, and
now we’re finished. Definitely
is hard coming in No. 1 and
going out the first round.”
Baylor tied in the second

Liesje Powers | Photo Editor

SLIDING INTO NATIONALS Senior western rider Elizabeth Shank rides in the reining event of the quarterfinals of the NCEA National Championships on April in
Waco. The No. 1-seed Bears lost to No. 9-seed TCU 9-7, ending their run at a title short of expectations.

event of the meet, equitation
over fences, with a score of
2-2, bringing the total tally to
5-3 in favor of TCU.
The format of the NCEA
National Championship runs
four riders as opposed to five
riders that are used in regular
season format. With this, it

gives each team less of an
opportunity to make mistakes.
“TCU is a tough team to
beat,” said equestrian head
coach Ellen White. “All of
these teams out here are
tough to beat. It’s also a little
bit interesting because all
year, for whatever reason, we

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compete with five [riders] in
each event, and then when
we get to championships, we
come down to four. TCU is
probably a very strong fourman team. So I think that’s
what necessarily makes them
not come in their ranking like
they necessarily ride. They are

a great group. We are a great
group, too; we just didn’t bring
it today.”
Baylor
lost
the
horsemanship contest 3-1 in
surprising fashion because of
their success all season in the
horsemanship event, dropping
the score to 8-4.

The Bears lost the overall
competition in the third
matchup of the final event,
equitation on the flat, giving
TCU the overall victory
by a final score of 9-7 and
eliminating the Baylor Bears in
their first meet of the National
Championship.

WANT TO EARN

HOURS THIS

SUMMER?
HERE ARE SOME TIPS:
DO

DON’T

Enroll at any of our
five colleges this
summer to keep up
with your degree plan.

Let required
courses get in the way
of progress.

Enroll in
online courses.

Let your summer
job keep you
from learning.

Come back to
Baylor with
more hours.

Pay more for the
same education.
The Alamo Colleges
District offers first-class
courses at a great price.